Holding

The statutory duty under Section 3(5) is discharged when the State Government sends the report within seven days; it is not required that the report actually reach the Central Government within that period.

Summary

The State of Manipur detained Sanasam Ongbi under Section 3(3) of the National Security Act, 1980. The Gauhati High Court quashed the detention order, holding that the State had violated Section 3(5) because the report of the detention did not reach the Central Government within seven days. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the statutory duty under Section 3(5) required the report merely to be sent within seven days or to be received by the Central Government within that period. Relying on a plain reading of the provision and on several Full Bench decisions of other High Courts, the Court held that the obligation is to send the report within seven days, not that it must be received within seven days. Consequently, the High Court’s finding of non‑compliance was erroneous. The appeal was allowed and the writ petition filed by the detenu was dismissed, leaving the detention order intact.

Issues considered

Whether the State Government's obligation under Section 3(5) of the National Security Act, 1980 is satisfied by sending the report to the Central Government within seven days or by ensuring that the report reaches the Central Government within seven days.

Legislation cited

National Security Act, 1980s. 3(3), s. 3(5), s. 5

Subjects

National Security Actpreventive detentionreporting requirementstatutory interpretationcentral governmenthigh court decisionSupreme CourtSection 3(5)detention order

Judgment

_.

STATE OF MANIPUR AND ORS. A
v.
SANASAM ONGBI AND ANR.

OCTOBER 13, 1999

[G.B. PATTANAIK, M. SRINIVASAN AND S.N. PHUKAN, JJ.] B

National Security Act, 1980 :

Section 3(5)-Expression "within seven days report the fact to the
Central Government"-Scope and meaning of C

Preventive Detention-Order passed by State Government-Obligation
to send report to Central Government-Held requirement is State Government
should send the report within seven days from passing of order of approval-It
is not necessary that such report should reach the Central Government within D
seven days.

The detention order passed by the appellant-State under section 3(3)
of the National Security Act, 1980 against the respondent was quashed by
t.he Gauhati High Court on the ground that there has been an infraction
of sub-section (5) of Section 3 inasmuch as the report of the State Govern- E
.. ment did not reach the Central Government within seven days of the date
of approval. The State preferred an appeal before this Court. On the
question whether the obligation of the State Government under Section
3(5) of the Act can be said to have been fully discharged if the report in
question is forwarded to the Central Government within the prescribed F
period of seven days or the said report should reach the Central Govern-
ment within. the prescribed period of seven days:

Allowing the appeal, this Court

HELD : 1. The Division Bench of Gauhati High Court committed G
error in coming to the conclusion that there has been an infraction of
Section 3(5) of the Act as the report and the other documents did not reach
the Central Government within the period of seven days as provided in
ii- sub-section (5) of Section 3 of the Act. The construction put forth by the
High Court of the expression ''within seven days report the fact to the H
641
642 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1999] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A Central Government" is erroneous. [6'16-B; CJ

2. Under Section 3(5) of National Security Act, 1980, the statutory
obligation on the State Government is to report the fact to the Central
Government together with the grounds on which the order has been made
within seven days of the date of approval when the order is made by any
B other authority than the State Government and within seven days of the
date of the order when the order is made by the State Government itself.
The language of Section 5 is not susceptible of the construction that the
report itself should reach the Central Government within seven days
prescribed under the said sub-section, which would be an impossible
C burden in certain circumstances. The expression "report the fact to the
Central Government" cannot be equated with the fact that the "report
should reach the Central Government" within the period of seven days as
provided in sub- section "(5) of Section 3. [643-F; G; H; 645-E; F]

Vinayak Ramchandra Sakhalkar and Etc. Etc. v. D. Ramchandran,
D Commissioner of Police, Thane and Ors. Etc., [1985] Criminal Law Journal
(Vol. 91) 1257; Gum Charan Singh v. Superintendent, Central Jail, Bareilly &
Ors., (1986) Allahabad Law Journal (Vol. 84) 1172 and Jivrajbhai Vrajlal
Patel v. State of Gujarat & Ors., (1988) 1 Gujarat Law Reporter 17, over-
ruled.
E
Nizam Babamiya Bhatt v. A.S. Samra, Commr. of Police, Bombay,
(1994) 1 Maharashtra Law Journal 6; Yogendra Singh v. State of Bihar &
Ors., [1985] Vol. 91 Criminal Law Journal 889; Ullas Sahu & Etc. v. District
Magistrate, Cuttack & Ors., [1988] Cr!. Law Journal (Vol. 94) 32, approved.

F Sher Mohammed v. The State of West Bengal, AIR (1975) SC 2049,
distinguished.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION; Criminal Appeal No.
345of1997.
G
From the Judgment and Order dated 20.9.96 of the Gauhati High
Court in C.R.H.C. No. 41 of 1996.

Ms. S. Janani for the Appellants.

H K.V. Vijayakumar for the Respondents.
-' STATE v. SANASAM ONGBI [PATTANAIK, J.] 643

! The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A
.,'
PATTANAIK, J. This appeal by grant of special leave is directed
· against the Judgment dated 20.9.96 of the Gauhati High Court in C.R.(HC)
No. 41of1996. In a writ petition filed by a detenu, who was detained under
Section 3(3) of the National Security Act, the High Court quashed the
order of detention on a conclusion that there has been an infraction of
B
sub-section (5) of Section 3 of the National Security Act, 1980 (hereinafter
referred to as 'the Act') inasmuch as the report of the State Government
did not reach the Central Government within seven days of the date of
approval. Though, pursuant to the order of the High Court, the detenu has
already been released but this Court granted leave as it was brought to the c
notice of the Court that there has been conflicting decisions of the High
Courts on the point involved and there has been no authoritative pronoun-
cement of this Court. The short question that arises for consideration,
therefore, is whether the obligation of the State Government under Section
3(5) of the Act can be said to have been fully discharged if the report in
D
question is forwarded to the Central Government within the prescribed
period of seven days or the said report should reach the Central Govern-
ment within the prescribed period of seven days. Section 3(5) of the Act
reads thus :

---, "Section 3(5). When any order is made or approved by the State E
Government under this Section, the State Government shall, within
seven days, report the fact to the Central Government together
with the grounds on which the order has been made and such other
particulars as, in the opinion of the State Government, have a
bearing on the necessity for the order."
F
On a plain reading of the Section, it appears to us that the statutory
obligation on the State Government is to report the fact to the Central
Government together with the grounds on which the order has been made
within seven days of the date of approval when the order is made by any
other authority than the State Government and within seven days of the G
date of the order when the order is made by the State Government itself.
The language of Section 5 is not susceptible of the construction that the
~ report itself should reach the Central Government within seven days
prescribed under the said sub-section, which would be an impossible
burden in certain circumstances. This question came up for consideration H
644 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1999] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.
--
A before the Bombay High Court in the case of Vinayak Ramchandra Sak-
halkar and etc. etc. v. D. Ramchandran, Commissioner of Police, Thane and
Ors. etc., (1985) Criminal Law Journal (Vol. 91) 1257. The Court inter-
preted the expression "report the fact" in Section 3(5) of the Act to mean
that the report sent by the State Government under Section 3(5) of the Act
B must be received by the Central Government within the prescribed period
of seven days. The question also came up for consideration before the
Allahabad High Court in the case of Gum Churun Singh v. Superintendent,
Central Jail, Bareilly and Ors., (1986) Allahabad Law Journal (Vol. 84)
1172, and the Allahabad High Court relied upon the aforesaid decision of
the Bombay High Court and came to the conclusion that the expression
C "report the fact to the Central Government within seven days" mean to
communicate the fact within seven days and, therefore, it is quite obvious
that unless the facts of detention is communicated to the Central Govern-
ment within seven days, it cannot be said that the mandate of Section 3(5)
is complied with. A similar provision in the Prevention of Black-marketing
D and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980, came
up for consideration before the Gujarat High Court in the case of Jivrajbhai
Vrajlal Patel v. State of Gujarat & Ors., (1988) 1 Gujarat Law Reporter P.17.
Section 3(4) of the said Act enjoins upon the State Government to report
the factum of detention to the Central Government within seven days. The
E High Court construed the said provision and held that the law enjoins that
the report should actually reach the Central Government and the fact that
the State Government has forwarded that report within seven days is not
sufficient. The Gauhati High Court in the impugned Judgment relied upon
the decision of the Bombay High Court and the decision of the Allahabad
High Court and came to 'the conclusion that the provisions of Section 3(5)
F cannot be said to have been com plied with in its true spirit as the report
in question did not reach the Central Government within the period of
seven days as indicated in sub-section (5) of Section 3 of the Act. The
interpretation to the provisions of Section 3(5) of the Act given by the
Bombay High Court referred to earlier has not been accepted by the Full
G Bench of the said High Court in the case of Nizam Babamiya Bhatt v. A.S. .--
Samra, Commr. of Police, Bombay, (1994) 1 Maharashtra Law Journal P.6.
the aforesaid Full Bench has considered the Gujarat High Court's decision
and the decision of the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court and
came to the conclusion that the views expressed by the Gujarat and
H Allahabad High Courts and Division Bench of Bombay High Court cannot
STATE v. SANASAM ONGBI [PATTANAIK,J.] 645

be accepted. The Full Bench held that the requirement of Section 3(5) is A
that the State Government should send the report within seven days from
the passing of the order or approval thereof and it is not necessary that
such report should reach the Central Government within that stipulated
period. This question has been considered by a Full Bench of Patna High
Court in the case of Yogendra Singh v. State of Bihar and Ors., (1985) Vol.
B
91 Criminal Law Journal 889, and the Court held that "where the State
Government had approved the detention order by order dated 5.11.1983,_
and the report had been sent to the Central Government on 12.11.1983,
the order of detention could not be challenged on the ground that it was
the legal obligation on the part of the detaining authority to make a report
to the Central Government within seven days. It cannot be said that the c
report ought to have reached the Central Government within seven days
because the obligation imposr.d upon the State Government under Section
3(5) is that the State Government should send a report and it is not that
the report should reach within a period of seven days." To the same effect
is the decision of the Orissa High Court in the case of Ul/as Sahu and etc. D
v. District Magistrate, Cuttack and Ors., (1988) Criminal Law Journal (Vol.
94) 32, whereunder the Orissa High Court differed from the views taken
by the Bombay and Allahabad High Courts and came to the conclusion
that the obligation on the State under Section 3(5) of the Act is not that
the report should reach the Central Government within the period of seven
E
days as provided therein.

Having examined the divergent views of different High Courts as
noticed above as well as on a construction of sub-section (5) of Section 3
of the Act we have no hesitation to hold that the expression "report the
fact to the Central Government" cannot be equated with the fact that the F
"report should reach the Central Government" within the period of seven
days as provided in sub-section (5) of Section 3. We are in respectful
agreement with the views expressed by the Full Bench of the Bombay High
Court as well as the Division Bench of Patna and Orissa High Courts and
we hold that the law laid down by the Allahabad High Court and Gujarat G
High Court is not correct. The learned counsel, appearing for the detenu
placed reliance on a decision of this Court in the case of Sher Mohammad
v. The State of West Bengal, AIR (1975) SC 2049. In the aforesaid decision,
Section 3(4) of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, came up for
consideration and this Court held that a communication made to the H
646 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1999] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A Central Government prior to the approval of the detention order by the
State Government cannot be held to be a compliance of Section 3(4) of
MISA. The question which falls for consideration in the case in hand was
not before the Court in the aforesaid case nor it has been answered and
as such the aforesaid decision is of no assistance. In the aforesaid premises
B we hold that the Division Bench of Gauhati High Court committed error
in coming to the conclusion that there has been an infraction of Section
3(5) of the Act as the report and the other documents did not reach the
Central Government within the period of seven days as provided in
sub-section (5) of Section 3 of the Act. The construction put forth by the
High Court of the expression "within seven days report the fact to the
C Central Government" is erroneous. the impugned decision accordingly
does not lay down the correct law. The appeal is allowed and the writ
petition filed by the detenu in the High Court stands dismissed.

T.N.A. Appeal allowed.